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ESPN recently published this report detailing the falling rates of black baseball players. Black players constitute a mere 8.2% of Major League Baseball, down from 8.4% last year. Black pitchers specifically only make up 3%. While the article didn’t specify if that 3% was of the entire baseball population or more specifically just the pitcher population, the figure is still a small one.
This is a phenomenon I have noticed in recent years but had merely poked fun at with some friends.
Sure there’s C.C. Sabathia and Dontrelle Willis. But from there you kinda have to start digging. There are some scattered starters here and there but most aren’t that great and stick around. James Baldwin? Dewon Brazelton? Edwin Jackson? Shawn Chacon was born in Alaska – does that count? Going into the bullpen we have such greats as Tom Gordon, Ray King, and LaTroy Hawkins.
There are some legends like Satchel Paige, Vida Blue, and Doc Gooden.
Perhaps I need a little reader help/input as I may not be as knowledgeable as I think I am on the subject, but these are pretty much all of the names I can think of.
Come to think of it, what about black catchers? The only ones I can think of on the spot are Charles Johnson and Russell Martin, who had an African-Canadian father.
The pitcher and catcher positions are perhaps the two most important spots in baseball. These two players control the game and can make it or break it together.
Could it be that baseball is undergoing problems similar to the National Football League‘s black quarterback controversies? Donovan McNabb claimed that people don’t want blacks playing the quarterback position. Perhaps this is true in baseball as well with these positions.
Or perhaps that sentiment extends to the entire sport as well. It’s not like baseball is trying to whitewash itself or anything, as there is a staggering amount of Latino players, so this phenomenon is a bit odd.
Or it could all just be mere coincidence coupled with indifference toward the sport. Basketball and football players seem to get more shine anyways.
